I don't know if the Aeropress can make a Cuban coffee the way a Moka Pot can? Or just that nice thickness a Moka can. Something about a Moka used with Cafe Bustelo or Pilon is incredible, growing up in South FL and especially the Miami area, Cuban coffee is soooo good and packs a wallop.

I love my moka pot. Ever since I picked one up a few month ago, it sees constant duty mostly because I drink Americanos and it excels in that vein. All my other stuff (french press, gaggia) has been gathering dust while I work my way through my new obsession.

A 9-cup moka might be too big for a nuanced "technical" approach. If you want control, flexibility and repeatable results while brewing reasonable amounts of coffee you might like a 2 (or 4) cup Bialetti Brikka. Whether or not the "crema" makes a difference is a bit moot - the tophat also controls pressure and temperature.

Since the pot always does the same thing at the same time, you can vary water volume, grind etc to control extraction a lot more easily. Take the pot off the heat as soon as brewing starts and with everything right the flow cuts before you start drawing burnt/bitter/overextracted coffee.

I get the gist of how it works, I've made a couple 19% and 20% extractions, I've had them clarified and yes, they're pretty good - but I've got a backlog of other things I need to work on and just don't feel I need add "mastering a moka pot" to my "to do" list... LOL

I love my moka pot. Ever since I picked one up a few month ago, it sees constant duty mostly because I drink Americanos and it excels in that vein. All my other stuff (french press, gaggia) has been gathering dust while I work my way through my new obsession.

Wow! You have my same experience. I just sold my Gaggia classic because I have gotten so good with my Bialetti moka pot that I felt bad seeing it sit there collecting dust. I use only a Chemex pour over and my multiple moka pots. I love the Americanos and Cubans I can get with it. I also agree with the writer that commented that a nine cup moka might not be the best to start out with. I would recommend mastering the 3 cup first. Do it over and over until you get the flow to just spill out of the spout. It is heavenly. It is also a very forgiving method of brewing that can make a great cup out of even 10 day old beans----- or even ground from a can!! I gotta admit I like Cafe Bustelo when I cant get fresh beans.

I'm seriously considering using my 6-cup moka pot for camping (to replace the Rapid Brew percolator). Either one takes about as much effort to clean in the field, plus it looks cooler. And I found one in Goodwill the other day...but when I tore it down, it looked like someone had been brewing with battery acid. Yuk!

It is a fairly simple device so I would expect it to operate just like the "real" one. I have a knockoff I bought at Pier one imports, when I was on vacation in Seattle in the early '70s when I was still a young pup, it still works though I have not used it for many, many years.

In real life, my name isWayne P.Anything I post is personal opinion and is only worth as much as anyone else's personal opinion. YMMV!

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